Rx Networks has announced version 7 of its GPStream PGPS (Predicted GPS) extended-ephemeris Assisted-Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS) solution for mobile devices. PGPS 7, a system composed of embedded software and an optional network data service, enables two full weeks of sub-five-second GNSS time-to-first-fix and high-sensitivity performance from a single small data token download. PGPS 7 further widens Rx Networks’ market lead in assistance-data bandwidth efficiency, performance and chipset support, and facilitates unprecedented use-case flexibility for mobile phone, personal navigation devices (PND) and machine to machine (M2M) devices and applications.

A-GNSS techniques enable satellite acquisition in dense urban areas and help reduce acquisition delays under good signal conditions by relaying satellite orbit information to a device in real-time over an existing data connection. In contrast, GPStream PGPS reliably predicts the orbits and clock drifts of satellites for up to two weeks (extended ephemeris), bypassing the need for constant network connectivity. PGPS, which has been field-proven in consumer devices since 2008, ensures that GNSS chips and the applications that rely on them always get the fastest possible location fix, even in marginal signal conditions, where A-GNSS improves performance by 10-12 dB.

While fast location fixes are important for personal user experience, they can be critical in some emerging M2M applications, particularly those with low power or extended battery operation requirements. PGPS 7 is uniquely well suited for applications operating under data bandwidth constraints, whether motivated by bandwidth or roaming cost or operational requirements. With its 14-day predictions, PGPS 7 reduces assistance data bandwidth requirements by 99 percent compared to real-time approaches, and by over 95 percent compared to other, chipset proprietary predictive solutions. PGPS 7 can also switch to an autonomous mode if it is unable to find a network connection to refresh the predictions before the two-week period elapses. In this mode, the software constructs its own five-day predictive models from available satellite observations.

“Our customers are excited by the leap in performance that PGPS 7 brings to the mobile location market and how the extended ephemeris improvements can benefit new Location-Based Services,” said Rob Kraft, PGPS Product Manager at Rx Networks. “PGPS offers reliability to applications that regularly need to get a GNSS position fix within a few seconds and can’t afford to miss it due to unforeseen network congestion or spotty connectivity – issues that can affect systems relying on real-time/SUPL assistance. PGPS provides a fallback mechanism that covers the connectivity gaps, and extends to the cases where there is no connectivity - all this for less than 5kB of network bandwidth every two weeks.”

PGPS 7 will be generally available for Android and Windows in Q3 of this year.